The main shopping area for Harbourfront is along Queens Quay West. It attracts many tourists as well as locals. There is also the Queens Quay Terminal, which is open seven days a week and has a number of stores, restaurants and galleries. This area is also walking distance to the St Lawrence Market area, which has the largest and oldest food market in Toronto. There is also a new Loblaws food store and retail centre at Queens Quay and Jarvis. This Loblaws offers many workshops such as cooking lessons for all ages.

There are plenty of activities happening along the waterfront. In wintertime, there is a large skating rink just by the water, which also has skating lessons available. In summertime, there are places to rent kayaks or canoes on Lake Ontario. There is also a summer camp run out of the Harbourfront Centre. There are always events put on by the centre as well, such as outdoor movie nights, art exhibits, and festivals. Of course, the Air Canada Centre, the Skydome, the CN Tower and the CNE are all minutes away, making this area an extremely popular one.

The Harbourfront district was created from a landfill in the early 1800’s. However, it didn’t take long for it to develop into an industrial hub full of warehouses, factories, shipping facilities and railway tracks all along the waterfront. In 1972, the Harbourfront Corporation was created and the waterfront began to be reclaimed by the citizens of Toronto. One of the landmarks of this progression is the Queens Quay Terminal. It was originally opened in 1927 as one of the largest warehouses in North America. In 1980, it was remodeled and now it is full of residential, commercial and retail spaces.